WO1997032329A1

WO1997032329A1 - Electrical safety switch

Info

Publication number: WO1997032329A1
Application number: PCT/AT1997/000037
Authority: WO
Inventors: Franz Reil
Original assignee: Felten & Guilleaume Austria Ag
Priority date: 1996-02-26
Filing date: 1997-02-26
Publication date: 1997-09-04
Also published as: ATA35096A; AT404647B; AU1759197A

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical safety switch which has a switching mechanism with a detent (8) and a detent support (4) with a locking projection (14) on which the detent (8) rests. The electrical safety switch also has a bimetal (20) which actuates the detent support (4). A release clip (9) is arranged on the detent support (4) and is associated with the bimetal (20). The position of the release clip (9) on the detent support (4) can be adjusted. The result is a very simple module which is easy to assemble, comprises the detent support (4) and the release clip (9) and can be installed into the line safety switch as a preassembled module.

Description

KlP.electric circuit breaker

The invention relates to a circuit breaker with a switching mechanism which has a pawl and a pawl support with a latching projection on which the pawl is supported and with a bimetal which actuates the pawl support.

With circuit breakers, e.g. Line circuit breakers, it is known to provide bimetal for thermal overload protection, which operate a pawl support when a predetermined, adjustable temperature is exceeded, so that the circuit breaker is actuated and the line to be protected is interrupted. In order to be able to adjust or readjust the temperature at which this is to take place, adjusting screws are usually provided which act on the bimetal element or a holder for it. The position of the bimetal element in the circuit breaker can be changed by turning the adjusting screw, so that the temperature at which the bimetal element triggers the switch can also be set.

The object of the invention is to provide a circuit breaker of the type specified at the outset which, as far as the tripping by the bimetal is concerned, is as simple and compact as possible.

This object is achieved in that a release bracket is arranged on the latch support, which is assigned to the bimetal and that the position of the release bracket on the latch support is adjustable. The invention provides a very simple and easy-to-assemble assembly, consisting of the latch support and the release bracket, which can be installed as a pre-assembled assembly in the circuit breaker.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this can be characterized in that the position of the release bracket on the latch support can be adjusted by means of an adjusting screw, and preferably that the release bracket is approximately U-shaped and that one leg of the release bracket on the clinch

REPLACEMENT LATCH (RULE 26) kenaufzug rests, whereas the other leg is assigned to the bimetal.

This embodiment of the invention offers the advantage that the trigger bracket can be adjusted particularly easily and precisely.

Further features and advantages of the invention result from the following description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings.

It shows:

1 shows an embodiment of a switch according to the invention with the top shell removed, in the “manual” OFF position,

2 shows a section through the switch of FIG. 1 along the lines A-A,

3 is a view of the switch of FIG. 1 in the ON position,

4 shows a view of the switch according to FIG. 1 at the moment of electromagnetic triggering,

5 is a view of the switch of FIG. 1 in the "electrical" OFF position and

6 shows a view of the switch according to FIG. 1 in the so-called “reset” position before it is switched on again.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a switch according to the invention, the housing of which, as usual, consists of a lower shell 1 and an upper shell 2 which are riveted or screwed together.

The switch has two terminals 23, 24, which are used to connect the line to be protected. With the terminal 23 is a

Clamping angle 22 connected, which is subsequently connected to the coil 19 of an electromagnetic release 27. The coil 19

REPLACEMENT BLAπ (RULE 26) is connected to a leg 28 of an approximately L-shaped yoke 6 of the electromagnetic release 27. On the other leg 29 of the yoke 6, a folding anchor 7 is pivotally mounted.

At an angled end 30 of the leg 28 of the yoke 6, a bimetal 20 is attached, the free end 31 of which is electrically connected to a round cable 18. This round cable 18 is subsequently electrically connected to a switching bridge 12, which is pivotally mounted at one end 32 on a switching button 3. A contact area 33 of the switching bridge 12 lies in the ON position (FIG. 3) on a stationary contact 21 which is fastened to a contact carrier 11. The essentially U-shaped contact carrier 11 is in turn connected at one end 34 to the terminal 24 and ends at its other end 34 'in a deionization chamber 10.

As already mentioned, the switching mechanism of the switch according to the invention has an actuating button 3 which has pivot pins 35 on both sides, which are mounted in recesses in the upper shell 2 and the lower shell 1. A handle 36 of the actuating button 3 leads out of the housing 1, 2 through a slot 37. At its end opposite the handle 36, the actuating button 3 has approximately V-shaped projections 38 on both sides, which form a receptacle for the ends 32 of the switching bridge 12 which is divided in the form of a fork in this region.

The switching bridge 12 has an opening 39 approximately in its central region, into which a tension spring 15 is suspended at one end. The other end of this tension spring 15 is suspended in an opening 40 in a pawl 8 which is guided through a slot 67 in the operating button 3. The pawl 8 is approximately U-shaped and has an end 41 in approximately V-shaped recesses 42 in the lower shell 1 and the upper shell 2. The other end 43 of the pawl 8 is supported in the ON position (FIG. 3) and in the “manual” OFF position of the switch (FIG. 1) on a support bolt 14 of a pawl support 4. The term “manual” OFF position means that the switch has been switched off manually using the operating button 3. Depending on whether the actuation button 3 is in the "manual" OFF position (FIG. 1) or in the ON position (FIG. 3), the force vector of the tension spring 15 leads either to the left or to the right at the point of contact of the ends 32 of the switching bridge 12 past the actuation button 3 and thus pulls the switching bridge into the ON or OFF position.

The pawl support 4, on the support bolt 14 of which is square in cross section in the illustrated embodiment, in the cross-section, the pawl 8 is supported in the ON position, is pivotally mounted in the housing 1, 2 via an axis 44. In the case of multi-pole switches, the pawl support 4 can be mechanically coupled to an adjacent switch along the axis 44 in order to transmit the pivoting movement of a pawl support 4 to the adjacent switch. For this purpose, rectangular recesses 66 are provided on both sides of the clinch support 4, into which rectangular connecting plates, also not shown, can be inserted. These connecting plates are inserted into the mutually facing recesses 66 of the pawl supports 4 of adjacent circuit breakers, so that the movement of a pawl support 4 is transmitted to the adjacent pawl support 4.

So that the electromagnetic release 27 and the bimetal 20 do not have to be dimensioned so much that they have to twist a plurality of latch supports 4 coupled with one another, the connecting plates are inserted with so much play in the recesses 66 that a latch support 4 can be rotated to such an extent that the Pawl 8 can slide off the support bolt 14 without an adjacent pawl support 4 also being rotated.

The jack support 4 has an extension 45 below the support bolt 14, on which an extension 46 is arranged, which extends transversely to the main plane of the switch housing 1, 2. Via this extension 46, the electromagnetic release 27 can open the switch via its hinged armature 7, as will be described in the following.

After the pawl 8 has slipped from the support bolt 14, it slides with its end under the action of the tension spring 15 43 on the extension 45 downwards, as a result of which the pawl support 4 is rotated even further counterclockwise. This rotary movement, which takes place under the action of the relatively strong tension spring 15, is now transmitted via the connecting plate to the adjacent latch support, so that an adjacent circuit breaker is also opened with a time delay.

The pawl support 4 is rotated clockwise by means of a support spring 16 designed as a torsion spring, which is supported on the one hand on the lower shell 1 and on the other hand on the pawl support 4. On the side facing away from the pawl 8, the pawl support 4 has a U-shaped release bracket 9, which rests with a leg 47 on the pawl support 4 and is fastened there, for example, by means of a bayonet catch. The other leg 48 of the trigger bracket 9 extends into the region of the free end 31 of the bimetal 20 and is spaced from it in the "cold" state of the bimetal 20. This distance can be adjusted by means of an adjusting screw 25, which passes through both legs 47, 48 of the release bracket 9, by screwing the adjusting screw 25, the longitudinal axis of which intersects the axis of rotation of the pawl support 4, into the pawl support 4 to different degrees. As a result, it can be set in a very simple manner at which temperature of the bimetal 20 the pawl support 4 is rotated so far that the end 43 of the pawl 8 slides off the support bolt 14 and the switch is opened.

As already mentioned, the second possibility of "electrical" triggering is provided by the electromagnetic release 27.

For this purpose, the hinged armature 7 of the electromagnet trigger 27 is of approximately T-shaped design, one leg 50 of the folding armature 7 projecting through the leg 29 of the yoke 6 and being pivotably mounted in this. The second leg 49 of the crossbeam of the hinged armature 7 is arranged in the extension of a core 13 surrounded by the coil 19 and is abruptly attracted by this, for example in the event of a short circuit, against the force of an armature spring 17. The armature spring 17 is formed in the illustrated embodiment as a torsion spring. One leg 51 of the armature spring rests on the leg 49 of the hinged anchor 7 and rotates the hinged anchor 7 counterclockwise. The other leg 52 of the armature spring 17 is inserted into one of a plurality of recesses 53 which are located laterally on the leg 28 of the yoke 6 which is arranged horizontally in the drawings.

The retaining force that is applied by the armature spring 17 against the electromagnetic tensile force of the core 13 on the hinged armature 7 can be adjusted in a very simple manner by inserting the leg 52 of the armature spring 17 into a selected recess 53. The retaining force of the armature spring 17 is smaller in the position shown in FIG. 1 than if it were inserted in the central recess 53, and greatest when it is inserted in the right recess 53. The armature spring 17 is plugged with its winding 54 onto an extension 55 on the vertical leg 29 of the yoke 6.

The main advantage of this arrangement is that the complete assembly consisting of solenoid release 27, yoke 6, hinged armature 7, armature spring 17 and bimetal 20 can be assembled and adjusted outside the switch und .. and thus used as a complete, pre-set assembly in the switch can be.

In the normal operating state, the current flows via the coil 19, the yoke leg 28, the bimetal 20 and the round cable 18 to the switching bridge 12 and further to the contact carrier 11. In the event of a short circuit, however, as soon as the arc commutates from the switching bridge 12 to the yoke leg 29, the current flows from the coil 19 via the yoke leg 29 of the yoke 6 and the arc to the contact carrier 11. The bimetal 20 is not further burdened by the short-circuit current. The bimetallic resistor, which has a favorable effect on the current damping, is replaced by the resistance of the yoke 6 or its yoke leg 29. The yoke leg 29 is connected to the yoke 6 so that the arc, viewed in the direction of current flow, commutates to the connection point. The actuation of the pawl support 4 by the hinged armature 7 takes place in that the hinged armature 7 comes to rest with its web 56 on the shoulder 46 of the latch support 4 when it is pivoted clockwise by the magnetic field of the core 13 of the electromagnetic release 27, and in further Follow the pawl support 4 pivoted until the pawl 8 slides off the support pin 14.

The result of this is that the pawl 8 pivots clockwise from its position shown in FIG. 3 about its bearing point 41, 42. As a result, the opening 40 in the pawl 8, in which the tension spring 15 is suspended, moves clockwise to the right until the force vector of the tension spring 15 on the right at the point of contact of the switching bridge 12 leads past the projections 38 on the actuating button 3, as a result of which the switching bridge 12 is pulled to the right into the position shown in FIG. 1 until it abuts a rib 57 of the lower shell 1. The arc travels downward on the switching bridge horn 33, commutates on the yoke leg 29 and is extinguished in the deionization chamber 10.

In order to reduce the disadvantage of the switching mechanisms of this type that the opening speed of the switching bridge 12 is very slow or the opening is used only very slowly, as a result of which virtually no current limitation is achieved, the following measures have been taken in the invention.

On the one hand, the pawl 8 has a pawl extension 60 which lifts the switching bridge 12 from the contact 21, while the pawl 8 pivots to the right. The switch behavior of the switch cannot be improved to a very great extent by the pawl extension 60, but the pawl extension 60 supports the breaking open of any light contact welds that may be present.

A significant improvement in the release movement of the pawl 8 can, however, be achieved by a pull tab 5 which has a bore 61 at one end and an elongated hole 62 at the other end. With its bore 61, the pull tab 5 is on one Approach 63 plugged on, which is located approximately in the middle of the switching bridge 12 laterally on this. The web 56 of the hinged anchor 7 engages with an extension 64 in the elongated hole 62.

If a short circuit occurs starting from the ON position of the switch shown in FIG. 3, then the hinged armature 7 is pivoted clockwise and assumes the position shown in FIG. 4. As a result, the pawl support 7 first pivots the pawl support 4 counterclockwise, as a result of which the pawl 8 is released. Immediately thereafter, the hinged armature 7 with its extension 64, which then rests on the right end of the elongated hole 62 of the pull tab 5, pulls the switching bridge 12 to the right and away from the stationary contact 21, even before a significant opening force is exerted by the tension spring 15 on the switching bridge 12 is exercised. The contact opening speed of the circuit breaker according to the invention can thereby be considerably improved.

After the switching bridge 12 has been moved into the position shown in FIG. 4 by the pull tab 5, the switching bridge 12 is pulled to the right by the pawl 8 pivoted to the right until it has reached the position shown in FIG. 5.

To switch the switch according to the invention on again, the actuation button 3 is turned clockwise. The actuating button 3 presses the pawl 8 with an extension 65, which comes into contact with the pawl 8 in a manner not shown, counterclockwise to the left until the position shown in FIG. 6 is reached, the end 43 of the pawl 8 is pivoted over the support pin 14 and can rest on the support pin 14 when the actuating button 3 is released. If the actuating button 3 is subsequently pivoted counterclockwise into the ON position shown in FIG. 3, the switching bridge 12 is simultaneously pivoted until it abuts the contact 21. The contact between the contact 21 and the switching bridge 12 closes very suddenly and quickly, as a result of which the switch-on erosion and the probability of contact welding is very low.

REPLACEMENT BLAπ (RULE 26)

Claims

Claims:

1. Electrical circuit breaker with a switching mechanism which has a pawl and a pawl support with a locking projection on which the pawl is supported, and with a bimetal which actuates the pawl support, characterized in that on the pawl support (4th ) a trigger bracket (9) is arranged, which is assigned to the bimetal (20), and that the position of the trigger bracket (9) on the latch support (4) is adjustable.

2. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 1, characterized ge indicates that the trigger bracket (9) is arranged resiliently on the latch support (4).

3. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 1 or 2, da¬ characterized in that the position of the trigger bracket (9) on the jack support (4) via an adjusting screw (25) is adjustable.

4. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the release bracket (9) is approximately U-shaped and that one leg (47) of the release bracket (9) abuts the latch support, whereas the other leg (48) is assigned to the bimetal (20).

5. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 4, characterized ge indicates that the adjusting screw (25) passes through both legs (47, 48) of the release bracket (9).

6. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 3 to

5, characterized in that the pawl support (4) is rotatably (44) in the housing (1, 2) of the circuit breaker and the longitudinal axis of the adjusting screw (25) intersects the axis of rotation of the pawl support (4).

7. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 1 to

6, characterized in that the release bracket (9) is connected to the latch support (4) via a bayonet catch.

8. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the jack support (4) with the jack support (4) of an adjacent circuit breaker can be connected.

9. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 8, characterized ge indicates that on the pawl support (4) coaxial to the axis of rotation (44) on both sides quadrangular recesses (66) are provided, can be used in the connecting plates with play.

10. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the pawl support (4) has an extension (45) on which the pawl (8) slides during its release movement and thereby the clinch support (4) even further twisted.

11. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the switching mechanism has a switching bridge (12) for contacting a stationary contact Kon (21), and an actuating button which is rotatably mounted in the housing and on which the switching bridge one end is movably mounted, that a tension spring is arranged between the switching bridge and the pawl, and that the armature (7) of a magnetic release which actuates the clinch support (4) is mechanically connected to the switching bridge (12).

12. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 11, characterized in that the mechanical connection limits the Relativ¬ movement between armature and switching bridge.

13. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the armature (7) via a Zugla- see (5) is connected to the switching bridge (12).

14. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 13, characterized ge indicates that the pull tab (5) is articulated to the switching bridge (12).

REPLACEMENT LATCH (RULE 26)

15. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the pull tab (5) has an elongated hole (62) in which the armature (7) engages.

16. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that the pawl (8) with one end (41) in the housing (1, 2) is mounted and with its other end (43) on a locking projection (14) rests on the jack support (4).

17. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that the fastening point (40) of the tension spring (15) on the pawl (8) during a relative movement between the actuating button (3) and pawl (8) is a straight line connecting the hanging point (39) of the tension spring (15) on the switching bridge (12) and the joint (32, 38) between the actuating button (3) and the switching bridge (12) cuts.

18. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 11 to 17, characterized in that a pawl extension (60) is arranged on the pawl (8) which after the sliding of the pawl (8) from the locking projection (14) on the pawl Pad (4) moves the switching bridge (12) away from the fixed contact (21).

19. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that it has a Magnetauslö¬ seeinheit (27) with a yoke (6), a coil (19) and an armature (7) by an armature spring (17th ) is loaded, and that the armature spring (17) is supported on the one hand on the armature (7) and on the other hand on the yoke (6).

20. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 19, characterized in that on the yoke (6) at least two recesses

(53) are provided, into which the armature spring (17) can be inserted.

21. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the armature spring (17) has a rotary

REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 2 (3) is the one whose winding is mounted on the yoke (6).

22. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that the yoke (6) is approximately L-shaped.

23. Electrical circuit breaker according to one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that the coil (19) is wound around a core (13) and that the armature (7) is a hinged armature on the yoke (6).

24. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 23, characterized ge indicates that the recesses (53) on the leg (28) of the yoke (6) are arranged, on which the core (13) with the coil (19) is arranged.

25. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the armature spring (17) is a tension spring.

26. Electrical circuit breaker according to claim 25, characterized in that the tension spring is hooked at one end to the armature (7) and with its other end in one of the recesses (53).